45: Chapter 45 The World Beneath the Crack

The roar shook the stone cave.

Debris fell with a rustle, clattering as it hit the ground. Uncle Ya grabbed A-Fei and pulled him down from the entrance of the crack. Just as A-Fei's feet touched the ground, a rock the size of a human head smashed into the spot where he had just been standing, shattering into pieces.

"We can't rush back up!" Han Meng roared. "That thing is blocking the entrance!"

Lu Zhao looked up.

At the entrance of the crack, the massive black shadow had retreated but had not left. A pair of eerie green eyes pressed against the edge of the crack, looking down. The pupils contracted and expanded in the darkness like two balls of ghost fire.

It was waiting.

Waiting for them to climb up and walk right into a trap.

"Forward!" Lu Zhao decided instantly. "Take the passage!"

Everyone took off running.

The bluestone underfoot was slippery, making a slapping sound with every step. He Shan ran at the very front, holding a fire starter in one hand and his sword in the other, the tip pointing forward, ready to react at any moment. Uncle Ya protected A-Fei, following closely behind. Han Meng brought up the rear, running while looking back, terrified that the thing might chase after them.

After running for about thirty zhang, the path suddenly opened up.

It was another stone chamber.

It was much larger than the previous one, about ten zhang in circumference and three or four zhang high. The four walls were smooth, clearly carved by human hands. In the center of the stone chamber stood three thick stone pillars arranged in a triangular formation, densely covered with carvings.

At the end of the stone chamber were three diverging paths.

Left, middle, and right, all pitch black, leading to unknown places. Everyone stopped, gasping for breath.

"That thing didn't follow us down." He Shan listened intently. "There's no sound from above anymore."

Han Meng sat down on the ground with a thud and wiped away his sweat. "Damn it, what was that thing? A bear? A wolf? How could it be so big?"

Uncle Ya crouched down and began to draw on the ground.

First, he drew a circle for the head. Then, he drew a thick body with four short legs. Finally, he pointed to his own mouth and mimicked a baring-teeth gesture—the mouth was huge, and the teeth were very long.

"A bear?" Han Meng asked.

Uncle Ya shook his head, pointed to the head, and drew two more circles—its eyes would glow in the night.

He Shan's expression changed slightly. "Is that a Mountain Demon?"

"Mountain Demon?" A-Fei asked curiously. "What's a Mountain Demon?"

He Shan said, "The elders in the mountains talk about it. It's a kind of monkey that has become a spirit, incredibly strong, fast, and eats people. I've never seen one, only heard the legends."

Uncle Ya nodded, then shook his head. He pointed to himself, then to the thing, and made a running gesture—it ran faster than he could.

Everyone fell silent.

They had seen Uncle Ya's agility with their own eyes. He could traverse mountains as if walking on flat ground, faster than any hunting dog. If that thing could run faster than him...

Lu Zhao suddenly spoke up. "It didn't follow us down."

Everyone looked at him.

Lu Zhao continued, "Back at that crack, if it wanted to pursue us, it could have come down in a single bound. But it didn't Move; it just blocked the exit. What does that mean?"

Shen Qingqiu chimed in, "It means there is something down here that it fears."

Lu Zhao nodded.

Everyone looked at each other.

Something that could make even a Mountain Demon of that size afraid—what on earth was hidden down here?

---

After resting for the time it takes to burn an incense stick, everyone stood up and began to explore this stone chamber.

He Shan raised the fire starter and walked to the nearest stone pillar, carefully examining the carvings on it.

The patterns were very ancient, with rough lines, but one could make out human figures—some were standing in stances, some were practicing punches, and some were sparring. Every Move was vivid and lifelike.

"Another Martial Dao Legacy?" he asked.

Lu Zhao walked over to take a look and nodded. "It's very similar to the carvings in the grotto, but more detailed."

He walked to the second stone pillar and looked intently.

This pillar was not carved with human figures, but with characters. Dense rows of ancient seal script were arranged neatly. He didn't recognize many, only managing to make out a few—

"Qi... Blood... Bone... Tendon..."

Shen Qingqiu leaned in, looked for a moment, and said, "It's a Cultivation Technique chant. But the ancient seal script used is too obscure; I can only understand about thirty or forty percent."

She pointed to one of the lines and read, "'Qi and blood like mercury, tendons and bones like steel, skin and membranes like leather; this is the foundation of a martial artist'—this talks about Foundation Establishment."

Lu Zhao recited it silently a few times, committing the lines to memory.

On the third stone pillar, a weapon diagram was carved.

Sabers, spears, swords, staves, axes, halberds, hooks, forks—all eighteen types of weapons were present. Next to each weapon were a few simple Moves and breathing techniques for circulating Qi.

He Shan stared at the bow and arrow diagram for a long time, then suddenly said, "This Move, 'Looking Back at the Moon', I once heard my grandfather talk about it. He said it was a unique skill of ancient hunters that had long been lost. So it came from here."

Uncle Ya walked over, patted his shoulder, and pointed to his own eyes—remember, remember it all.

He Shan nodded, took out a piece of charcoal, tore off a piece of his garment, and traced the diagrams.

After exploring the three stone pillars, everyone gathered in front of the three diverging paths.

"Which one do we take?" Han Meng asked.

Lu Zhao looked at Uncle Ya.

Uncle Ya crouched down and touched the ground with his hand. The entrances of the three paths were all paved with the same bluestone, but the marks on the stones were different.

The one on the left had the most severely worn bluestone, with deep grooves in the middle, as if it had been crushed by wheels countless times.

The middle one had relatively intact bluestone, but there were scattered footprints on it—not human footprints, but beast tracks, three-toed and very large.

The right one had the cleanest bluestone, with almost no marks.

Uncle Ya stood up and pointed to the left path.

"The left?" He Shan frowned. "These marks look like a passage for transporting Ore. Taking this one should lead to the depths of the mine."

Shen Qingqiu said, "But what about the thing that the Mountain Demon fears..."

Lu Zhao was silent for a moment, then said, "Take the left."

He paused and looked at everyone.

"We came down here to find the ruins, not to hide from things. The thing that it fears might just be what we are looking for."

Everyone nodded.

The left path was very wide, about a zhang or so, enough for two people to walk side by side. On the stone walls on both sides, there was an oil lamp every few zhang, but the oil had long dried up, leaving only black, empty lamp holders hanging there.

He Shan walked at the front holding the fire starter, his sword held horizontally across his chest. Lu Zhao followed closely, holding True Qi in his palms. Shen Qingqiu was in the middle, clutching a talisman in her hand. A-Fei followed by her side, gripping his short sword. Han Meng and Uncle Ya brought up the rear, one holding a sword, the other holding the rope with the bronze bell attached.

After walking for about the time it takes to burn two incense sticks, the path ahead gradually opened up.

It was another stone chamber.

But this stone chamber was much larger than the previous one. It was at least thirty zhang in circumference and five or six zhang high, with a vaulted ceiling shaped like an inverted cauldron.

In the center of the stone chamber was a huge deep pit.

The pit was circular, about ten zhang in diameter, and bottomless. The edge of the pit was piled with debris, rusted tools, rotten wooden frames, and several skeletons.

The skeletons were scattered around the edge of the pit, some lying prone, some supine, some curled up. The bones were grayish-white and crumbled at the slightest touch, clearly having been dead for many years.

He Shan crouched down, picked up a bone to examine it, and frowned. "Not a Yao Beast, it's a human."

A-Fei shivered and took a step back.

Shen Qingqiu walked to the edge of the pit and looked down. The bottom of the pit was pitch black, and she could see nothing, only a cold wind blowing up from below, carrying a pungent, fishy smell.

"Is this... the main shaft of the mine?" she said. "Did they abandon it after digging to the deepest point and finding no more Ore?"

Lu Zhao didn't speak, just stared at the deep pit.

He suddenly remembered the drawing Uncle Ya had made: in the depths of the mine, there was an underground river that led to the heart of the mountain.

Where was the underground river?

As he was thinking, he suddenly heard an extremely faint sound—"Swish... swish..."

It sounded like water.

It was coming from beneath the deep pit.

He looked at Uncle Ya.

Uncle Ya had heard it too. He walked to the edge of the pit, lay down, pressed his ear against the rock at the edge of the pit, and listened for a long time. Suddenly, he lifted his head and nodded at Lu Zhao—there was water below.

"The underground river is at the bottom of the pit?" Han Meng leaned in. "Then how do we get down? This pit is at least several tens of zhang deep."

Uncle Ya stood up, looked around, and suddenly walked toward the east side of the stone chamber. Everyone followed.

On the east stone wall, there was a narrow crack, about two feet wide, just enough to squeeze through sideways. The edges of the crack had signs of chiseling, as if it had been artificially widened.

Uncle Ya squeezed inside.

After a moment, his shouting came from within—not shouting, but the sound of him hitting the stone wall, "Clang, clang, clang," very urgently.

Lu Zhao squeezed into the crack.

The crack was very narrow, and he could only Move sideways. After moving about five or six zhang, his eyes suddenly brightened.

It was a naturally formed karst cave.

The cave was small, about two or three zhang in circumference and a little over a zhang high. At the bottom of the cave was a pool of water, clear enough to see the stones at the bottom. At the end of the pool, a waterway wound forward, leading to an unknown destination.

Uncle Ya crouched by the pool, reached out to test the water temperature, and nodded at Lu Zhao—not cold, passable.

Lu Zhao crouched down and stared at the waterway for a long time.

The waterway was about a zhang wide, with a very low ceiling, only about two feet above the water surface. To enter, one would have to submerge their entire body in the water, face up, and swim forward while pressed against the cave ceiling.

"This is the underground river." Shen Qingqiu squeezed in, looked at the waterway, and murmured, "Following it will lead to the heart of the mountain."

He Shan poked his head in and frowned. "How long is this waterway?"

Uncle Ya shook his head and made a gesture: don't know, but the current isn't fast, it's swimmable.

Han Meng scratched his head. "I can't swim."

Uncle Ya rolled his eyes at him and pointed to the cave wall—there were places to grab onto above.

Everyone looked carefully, and sure enough, there were carved grooves on the cave wall, one every two or three feet, just right for holding onto. There were also some on the ceiling of the waterway, densely packed, as if it were an artificially carved passage.

"This was carved by the ancients," Lu Zhao said. "This is how they entered and exited."

He stood up and looked at everyone.

"I'll lead. Uncle Ya second. Miss Shen third. A-Fei fourth. He Shan fifth. Han Meng last. Once we go down, follow one after another, no falling behind. If you encounter any situation, tap the stone wall to signal."

Everyone nodded.

Lu Zhao took a deep breath, took off his outer garment, wearing only his close-fitting short tunic, bit down on his steel-reinforced sword, and was the first to slide into the water.

The pool water was cold but not bone-chilling. He trod water twice, felt for the entrance of the waterway, flipped over, lay on his back, his face pressed against the cave ceiling, and with his hands gripping the grooves on the stone wall, he moved forward bit by bit.

Above his head was damp rock, with cold water droplets occasionally dripping onto his face. Below him was the dark, deep water, bottomless, with only the occasional bubble rising from the depths, "glub, glub," as if something were breathing down there.

He held his breath and concentrated on moving forward.

After moving for about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the path ahead suddenly opened up.

The waterway had ended.

He pushed up with both hands and surfaced from the water.

Before him was a huge natural cave.

The cave was over ten zhang high and at least fifty zhang in circumference. Countless stalactites hung from the vaulted ceiling, interlocking like jagged teeth, dripping water down. The cave floor was flat rock, very dry, as if it had been artificially polished.

In the center of the cave was a stone door.

The stone door was about three zhang high and two zhang wide, pitch black, emitting a faint, cold glint. The door was covered in carvings—people, beasts, mountains, rivers, layered and dense. On the lintel, two large ancient seal script characters were carved.

Shen Qingqiu emerged from the water, wiped her face, and looked up at the two characters. Her expression suddenly changed.

"That is..." she murmured, "Zang Wu?"

"Zang Wu?" Lu Zhao frowned.

Shen Qingqiu stared at the two characters, enunciating clearly: "The 'Zang' of burial, the 'Wu' of Martial Dao. The Gate of Buried Martial Dao."

She paused, her voice tight.

"This place is where the Martial Dao is buried."

While everyone was staring at the stone door, a violent splashing sound suddenly came from the waterway behind them.

Something was chasing them from behind.

The bronze bell at Uncle Ya's waist rang frantically, "Ding-a-ling-ling"—louder and more urgent than ever before!

He ripped off the rope, threw it into the water, and turned to stand in front of everyone.

At the entrance of the waterway, the water surface suddenly exploded!

A massive black shadow shot out from the water, opening its blood-red mouth, full of fangs, and bit down directly at Han Meng, who was closest!